USIU Explains Why DIG Masengeli Cannot Defend PhD Dissertation
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United States International University-Africa (USIU-Africa) has told the High Court that Deputy Inspector General of Police Gilbert Masengeli cannot proceed with the defence of his PhD dissertation because his work is still under review for the next stage of the academic process.
The university says Masengeli is not an exception to the procedures that apply to other doctoral students and that his dissertation must go through the required academic processes before he can proceed to the next stage.
The development comes after Masengeli moved to court, accusing USIU-Africa of delaying the processing of his dissertation and putting his chances of graduating this month at risk.
USIU Says Dissertation Still Under Review
Masengeli is pursuing a Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations at USIU-Africa.
He had asked the High Court to intervene after the university failed to communicate the outcome of his dissertation examination or clearly explain what remained before he could complete his doctoral studies.
However, USIU-Africa has now told the court that his dissertation is still undergoing the required review process.
The university maintains that Masengeli must follow the same academic procedures as other students and cannot proceed to defend his dissertation before the review process is completed.
The response comes as the dispute centres on whether the Deputy Inspector General should be allowed to proceed with the next stage of his PhD before the university completes its internal academic processes.
Masengeli Says He Completed Coursework
Masengeli enrolled at USIU-Africa in September 2021 to pursue the five-year doctoral programme in International Relations.
He says he completed the required coursework and examinations before progressing to the dissertation stage.
According to court documents, he submitted his first dissertation draft on June 11, 2026, followed by another draft on July 14. He says he continued working on the dissertation based on feedback from his supervisors.
By August 31, the university had received reports from both the internal and external examiners, according to the court documents.
Masengeli says he was yet to receive the outcome of the examination or a clear explanation of what remained before he could proceed to the final stage.
Dispute Over September Graduation
The dispute has come as USIU-Africa prepares its final graduation list ahead of a ceremony scheduled for September 26.
Masengeli says the delay could prevent him from graduating this month despite completing the required academic work.He formally sought an explanation from the university on August 25.
In its September 3 response, USIU-Africa referred to “mandatory requirements” and “pending next steps” in his academic process. The university also said the matter had been forwarded to the Associate Dean of the School of Graduate Studies for “immediate attention.”
Masengeli argues that the response did not identify the mandatory requirements or provide a definite timeline for the completion of his academic process.
“The Respondent did not identify with specificity the alleged mandatory requirements, communicate the outcome of my Dissertation examination, or provide a definite timeline within which my academic process would proceed,” Masengeli says in his affidavit.
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DIG Seeks Court Intervention
The Deputy Inspector General has accused the university of violating his constitutional right to fair administrative action. He argues that the continued delay is unlawful, unreasonable and procedurally unfair.
Masengeli also says the uncertainty threatens his right to education and frustrates his legitimate expectation that his academic progression would be handled fairly, transparently and within a reasonable time.
He has, however, clarified that he is not asking the court to assess the academic merits of his dissertation or order USIU-Africa to award him a PhD without meeting the university’s academic requirements.
“Rather, I seek preservation of the position obtained before the impugned administrative conduct is finally determined,” he says.
Court Certifies Case as Urgent
The High Court has already certified the matter as urgent and admitted it for hearing during the court recess.
Court directed USIU-Africa to be served with the petition and application and ordered the university to file and serve its response within three days.
The case was listed before Justice Patricia Mande Nyaundi for further directions on Tuesday, September 15.
Masengeli argues that unless the court intervenes, he risks being left out of the September graduation cycle through no fault or omission on his part.
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